Accordion.



P. PETROMILLI & C. PIATANESI.

ACCORDION.

AYPLIOATION FILED AUGJ, 1911.

1,087,508, Patented Feb. 1'7, 1914.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

P. PETROMILLI & G. PIATANESI.

ACCORDION.

APPLIUATION FILED AUG.1, 1911.

SHEETS-SHEET Patented Feb. 17, 1914.

$2 0 O 0 G 0 G O P. PETROMILLI & C. PIATANESI.

AGGOBDION.

APPLIOATION FILED AUG.1, 1911.

Patented Feb. 17, 1914.

3 SHEETS-EH21]?! 3.

INVENTORS fans qu QZQPQ 62- 0272 z'ZZL' (620/72 Z0 Ia'azan es a,

WITNESSES:

.PASQUALE PETROMILH AND COLOMBO PIATANESI, OF SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA.

ACCORDION.

i Specification of Letters Patent.

- Patented Feb. 17, 1914.

Application filed August 1, 1911. Serial No. 641,749.

. T all whom it may concern:

Be it known that W8,-PASQUALE PETRO- MILLI and CoLoMBo PIATANESI, subjects of the King of Italy, residing in the city and county of San Francisco and State of California, have invented new and useful Improvements in Accordions, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to musical 1nstruments, and particularly to accordions The principal object of the present inventicn is to effect certain improvements in the treble or melody end of the instrument whereby the construction of a so-cal-led chromatic accordion is'greatly simplified and perfected, and rendered capable of producing the full melodic effects of the so-called piano accordions. This desired object is accomplished by a simple and compact arrangement of valves and reed boxes, whereby three rows of keys of a chromatic scale key-board will control two rows of valves, each row of valves in turn controlling two reed boxes, so that each key of the key board when depressed will produce three notes of the same pitch and a fourth note of an octave higher or lower.

The invent-ion consists of the parts and 1 the construction and combination of parts as hereinafter more fully described and .claimed, having reference to the accompany-- ing drawings, in which Figure 1 is a transverse, vertical section through the reed and key end of the accordion; Fig. 2 is an elevation of the valves and their keys. .Fig. 3 is a detail, sectional view, showing the reed series and the slidable valve.- Fig. 4 is a plan view showing the arrangement of the keys, arranged in three rows, for operating the valves arranged in two rows.

This accordion is designed to employ a minimum number of valves, so arranged and controlled that the tone of the accordion is full, rich and strong and closely simulates a very much larger and more expensive accordion known as the piano accordion.

As shown in Fig. 1, and diagrammatically in Fig. 4-, we employ 2 rows of valves 23 on the treble or melody end of the instrument, each valve controlling two rows of reed boxes, two reed boxes 7 to each row and each valve controlled from a key 9, 10 or 11 on the chromatic scale key board. Each of the valves 23 has its own valve seat 4 with its double row of perforations or ports 5,

so arranged that each valve 2 or 3 covers four of these ports 5. The ports or perforations 5 permit the passage of air from a chamber 6 in the bellows casing A whenever a valve 2 or 3 is lifted from its seat. Each reed box 7 has its reed 8 and three of these reeds are attuned to the same pitch and the other reed of the reed box controlled by that valve is pitched an octave higher or lower, generally lower. As a consequence, the lifting of a valve 2 or a valve 3 produces a tone of uniform pitch as to three notes, and a fourth tone of an octave below. The two rows of valves 23 are controlled from the three banks of keys at 910--l1, these keys making up a chromatic scale key-board, as indicated diagrammatically in Fig. 4. The keys are fulcrumed at 12 and are normally actuated to seat their respective valves by suitable means, as springs 13; the springs and fulcrum bar 12 being suitably carried by the accordion case A. The first bank of keys 9 is connected by rods 14 to its respective valves 2, and the latter are provided with extensions or arms 15, mounted in suitable bearings 16. lVhen a key 9 is depressed, the rod 14, connected to a valve 2, operates the latter about its bearing 16, permitting the escape of air from the chamber 6 past and operating four reeds 8, the air exhausting through the perforations 5.

I have shown the keyboard keys as ar ranged in three banks or series, which adds to the compactness of the keyboard and renders the keys of easy and rapid selection by the operator, there being provided in accordions constructed on thls plan asmany as forty keys grouped in an extremely compact arrangement. When a key 10 of the second bank is depressed, it, through its con nection 10, lifts its respective valve 2 from a row of four perforations, thus permitting the playing of the four respective reeds. Likewise, when a key of the third or last bank is actuated, it, through its connection 11 will lift its respective valve 3 from a series or row of four perforations and permit the issuance of sound by the vibration of the four respective reeds 8.

It will thus be seen that we have provided an accordion with playing keys arranged in series of three banks each capable of operating valves arranged in two rows or series, each valve controlling the playing of four reeds. Of the four reeds which are controlled by one valve, three are or may be of and the remaining one of a the same pitch an octave different octave, for instance, lower than the three other reeds.

It is sometimes desirable to eliminate the fourth note of the different octave. This is accomplished by slidably mounting back of the perforated plate t, a slide 17 of such width as to include the two innermost of the series of perforations 5 The shift-able slide 17 is provided with a series of perforations 18 and 19, designed to register with the innermost series of perforations 5 when the slide 17 is shifted in one direction, so that when so registered the perforations 18 and 19 permit the flow of air from the reed chamber 7 through their respective perforations 5. If the operator desires to eliminate the fourth note or tone, he shifts the slide 17 so that the perforations 18 and 19 are carried away from the perforations 5 and the latter are covered by the solid portion of the slide 17 thus rendering ineffective those several reeds 8, the vents or perforations 5 of which have been covered. hen a key is actuated to move a valve 2 or 3 there then remain but the three unison reeds to be played.

Any suitable means may be employed for shifting the slide 17, and to that end there is provided a shiftable handle 20 extending to one side of the casing A, and which is connected by alever 21, fulcrumed on the easing at 22 Fig. 1, and which lever 21 connects by alink 2 1 with another lever 23 which is fulcrumed at 24 Fig. 3. The lever 23 is slotted, as at 25, to receive a pin 26 which is secured in one end of the slide 17. When the controlling handle 20 is shifted in one direction the slide 17 is carried so that its perforations 18 and 19 register with respective innermost series of perforations 5. When the controlling handle 20 is moved in the opposite direction the slide 17 is shifted to cover the said series of perforations, thus rendering their respective reeds inoperative.

In Fig. 4: the method of connecting up the keys and valves is set out showing a chroin the rows or series.

matic key board wherein all the keys 9 in one row are connected to certain of the valves 2 and all the keys 10 in the second row are connected to certain valves in the row 3; while the keys in row 11 are connected to the remaining valves 2-3. As a consequence there are 10 valves in two rows of 20 each, operated by three rows of keys aggregating 10 in number, and each valve controlling a volume of sound equivalent to that produced by four reeds; three of these reeds being of the same pitch, and the other reed of an octave difference. It is understood of course that this arrangement applies only to the treble or melody end of an instrument and has nothing to do whatsoever with the bass end of the instrument; the latter being confined to a production of chords.

Having thus described our invention what we claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

An improved accordion having in combination a suitable case a chromatic key-board arranged in three rows, two rows of valves four reeds and reed boxes controlled by each valve, three of the reeds controlled by a valve being of the same pitch and the fourth an octave of the three, operative connections between all of the keys of one row with certain of the valves of one row of valves, operative connections between all the keys of another row of keys and certain of the valves of the other row of valves, and operative connections between the remaining valves and the keys of the third row whereby a chromatic key-board of three roWs controls an equal number of valves arranged in two rows, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof we have hereunto set our hands in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

PASQUALE PETROMILLI. COLOMBO PIATANESI. \Vitnesses M. S. Pnnosso, A. ZULLO. 

